Contents

Leading up to Establishment

Artworks and crafts, architectural structures, academic materials, and other cultural treasures common to humanity face a constant threat of extinction and collapse as a consequence of aging, environmental changes, natural disasters, and threats caused by humans such as war. The cultural assets we have today wouldn’t be here if not for the knowledge and ongoing management, preservation, and restoration efforts of countless individuals and generations. Yet in recent years, a flurry of tourism demands and an increase in research needs pose growing burdens on them. To cope, societies are compelled to partially restrict the use of their cultural treasures both for public viewing and academic research. Meanwhile, we have recently been developing new technologies to capture more precise digital archive data on cultural assets. The latest data collected through these technologies has enabled untold numbers of people to research, exhibit, experience, and appreciate these assets whilst transcending the limits of time and distance. These data also have contributed greatly in media and content creation.
Digital cultural assets created through a combination of human wisdom and digital technology are beginning to link in complementary relationships with the original assets to be protected. As they do, they are becoming all the more important as new types of cultural resources and are expected to play other new roles in the future.

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infomation

May 12, 2011
English website was released.